Arryn Siposs
Arryn Siposs is a junior St Kilda medium forward who made his debut in 2011. A strong marking forward and an accurate kick, Siposs also spent time in the midfield in 2012, diversifying his role and proving himself adept around the ground. =Early Years= Siposs kicked 99 goals in a season in the Under 16s for Beaconsfield in the Mornington Peninsula Football League however it was a school football match that led to Siposs finally getting a spot on the Dandenong Stingrays list for the 2010 season. Playing for his school Hallam, Siposs kicked eight goals against a Wondonga side that included seven members from the Murray Bushrangers Under 18s side in the TAC Cup. Siposs made the most of his opportunity with the Dandenong Stingrays under 18s in 2010, playing 15 games and kicking 37 goals, ranked fifth in the TAC Cup, he averaged 9.3 kicks, 5.1 handballs and 5.1 marks per game. Arryn’s Stingrays form resulted in him playing one match for Vic Country at the 2010 NAB AFL Under-18 Championships in which he had 12 possessions including eight contested, kicked one goal and had two goal assists. Torn hip cartilage sustained in the TAC Cup 2010 finals ruled him out of physical testing at the 2010 AFL Draft combine. =Draft & Debut: 2011= Arryn Siposs was selected with pick 75 of the 2010 National Draft. Despite the low selection, Siposs made his debut the following year and had an immediate impact. As the Saints 'blooded' several new players in 2011, Siposs was the recipient of 5 games in his first year as he was thrown into the forward line in the first half of the Saints' season. Siposs made his debut in Round 7 against Carlton at Etihad Stadium. The Saints lost by 3 points, with Siposs only gaining 4 disposals, but kicking his first AFL goal. Siposs was recalled for the following round, and against Hawthorn at the MCG he kicked 2 goals and had 11 disposals in the Saints' 30-point loss. Siposs retained his spot in the side for the next 3 matches, kicking a further 2 goals. Following the Saints' 57-point thumping at the hands of the Magpies, Siposs was admitted and spent the rest of the season developing the the Saints' VFL affiliate side, Sandringham. =2011 Season= Arryn’s 2011 pre-season was hampered by a quadriceps injury and after playing the first three Rounds of the 2011 season in the VFL and being named an emergency for Round 6 Arryn Siposs made his AFL debut at 18 years of age in Round 7 2011 against Carlton at Etihad Stadium, becoming the fifth Saint to make their AFL debut in 2011. On debut Siposs showed great composure at the 19 minute mark of the last quarter to kick a set-shot goal from sixty metres out, assisted by a Stephen Milne sheppard in the goalsquare. Against Carlton Siposs had three kicks, one handpass, three marks and 100% disposal efficiency. In the first six minutes of the Round 8 match at the MCG against Hawthorn Siposs showed great composure to set up the opening two goals, both times with great passes to Nick Riewoldt that allowed the Saints captain to take easy marks whilst running back towards goal. Siposs was in St Kilda’s best players with seven kicks, four handballs, four marks, two goals, two goal assists and 91% disposal efficiency. St Kilda defeated Melbourne by 20 points in Round 9 and Siposs was one of four players along with Jamie Cripps, Nick Winmar and Dean Polo to play in their first victory with the St Kilda Football Club. St Kilda’s opening goal against Melbourne was set up by a precision pass from Siposs which enabled Stephen Milne to take a chest mark. At the start of the last quarter Jamie Cripps was substituted onto the ground to replace fellow 2010 draftee Siposs. After three matches in a row with six possessions from Round 9 to Round 11 Siposs was dropped to the VFL for Round 12 where he remained until Round 20, a shin injury brought his 2011 season to a premature end. Siposs played 5 matches in 2011 averaging 93 minutes, 4.2 kicks, 2.4 handballs, 3.0 marks and 1.0 goals per game, with an elite disposal efficiency of 90.9%. Whilst Siposs only averaged 6.6 possessions a game in 2011, he demonstrated great composure and an ability to make an impact with limited possessions due to his damaging ball use, particularly around goal or delivering the ball inside 50. =2012 Season= Siposs was injury free during his second pre-season at AFL level enabling him to increase his strength, by the start of the 2012 season he had added five kilograms to his draft weight, increasing to 87 kilograms. After commencing the season in the VFL Siposs played his first AFL match of the 2012 season in Round 6 against Hawthorn and had more than six possessions for only the second time in his career (coincidently both matches were against Hawthorn), having eight kicks, three handballs and taking four marks. For Round 7 against Carlton Siposs started as the substitute and had four possessions in 13% game time. Siposs was dropped for Round 8 and again used as a substitute in Round 9 against Sydney. Arryn Siposs set a new career high in his ninth AFL match, Round10 against Richmond with 12 possessions in only 28% game time after starting the match as the substitute. In each his four matches since playing Richmond he has had at least 14 possessions, with 20 in Round 11 vs Gold Coast, 14 in Round 14 vs Adelaide, 17 in Round 15 vs Essendon and 17 vs Brisbane in Round 16. Throughout 2012 Siposs has spent time playing on a wing as well as in the forward line. Throughout his football career Siposs had never played in the midfield before this season, one of the aims of the move is to develop Arryn into a more rounded footballer and strengthen the defensive side of his game. During the 71 point Round 15 victory against Essendon at Etihad Stadium Siposs played brilliantly to have 12 kicks, five handballs, six marks, kick two goals, have one goal assist and use the ball superbly to have a disposal efficiency of 88%. In recognition of this performance Siposs received the Round 15 AFL Rising Star nomination, becoming just the fifth St Kilda player to receive a nomination since the start of the 2004 season, joining Rapael Clarke (Round 22, 2005), Sam Gilbert (Round 16, 2007), Jarryn Geary (Round 8, 2009) and Jack Steven (Round 10, 2011). After receiving the Round 15 Rising Star nomination Siposs said “It’s definitely a dream come true for me to play with guys I’ve been watching for a long time, and I’m just trying to make the most of it.” =Statistics= Category:Players